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Fanfiction:Fluttery Love
WARNING: SHIPPING Ships All-Canon (Unofficial, Obviously) * Fireandiceshipping: Crios x Mira * Archarenashipping: Crios x Nova * Powerarenashipping: Ziang x Aurora * Clashingfrostshipping: Clankboot x Mira * Steamshipping: Crios x Aurora Mixed I'm attempting not to do any mixed canon-fanon ships because a lot of people don't like it for some reason. I guess that's how it has to be. Pure Fanon * Springandwintershipping: Vernal x Hibernal * Summerandfallshipping: Estival x Autumnal * Dragon-fryshipping:???Serrazig??? x ???Serrazag??? * Wingedsnekshipping: Sierra x Couatl * Flutteryloveshipping: Dreamer x Draxis * Arettshipping: President Aria Stormchaser x First Gentleman Rhett Stormchaser Cast List - Fanon Wizards/Fairies * President Aria Stormchaser - the second president of Prodigy island, who is a retired Trialmaster that heads the Executive Branch in the government of the island. She is one of the founding mothers of the stronger Prodigy nation. * First Gentleman and Inner-Circle Member Rhett Stormchaser - betrothed husband-to-be to Aria, one of the founding fathers of the stronger Prodigy nation. He also works as one of the professors of combat in the Academy. * Former Leader Samantha - a deceased fairy guide that was the role model of many. She has the ability to give Aria, Nike, and others she used to be close to visions so that she could give advice from wherever her soul now lies. * Inner-Circle Member Princess Wishsinger - Aria's royal sister, who has many friends and allies in the mini sovereign island just off of the main island. * Inner-Circle Member Quinn Swiftwinner - one of Aria's close friends. She has developed a spunky attitude and a very political side to herself. * Inner-Circle Member Heather (the Angel) - a resurrected angel who has been alongside the other inner-circle members to grow and help guide fairies to a life working as equals with wizards. She is a sassy yet go-getting mediator. * Inner-Circle Member Carter Stormchaser - Rhett's younger brother who works in the government as a cabinet member, the Secretary of Commerce. He has learned to handle many things at a time very quickly. * Amber Heroblade - Quinn's older sister, married to a very rich husband. She only cares about the money and income she gets, charming his husband into getting more of his inheritance money despite their now many other heirs. She hates having to find other caretakers for her quintuplets. * Daniel Heroblade - ' '''a very shy wizard that has a large sum of money and uses it to his well being. Be barely uses it except for treating her wife to morph marbles. He also enjoys his children and wishes to spend more time with them despite his wife wanting them out of their lives. * Vice President Apprentice - a reincarnation of Culix who took his fame to the presidency! He is an important member of the government and enjoys talking to others he knows. However, he isn't too fond with Aria's closer allies, jealous of their gifts and power. * Vernal - a patron of Spring, who loves his girlfriend, Hibernal. * Estival - a matron of Summer, who loves her boyfriend, Autumnal. * Autumnal - a patron of Fall, who loves his girlfriend, Estival. * Hibernal - a matron of Winter, who loves her boyfriend, Vernal. * Floatling Nurse - the main nurse of the Barracks, an area hidden from the rest of the island map. Buddies Main Character's * Thomas (Tim) - Aria's loyal part dire-wolf part Timberwolf, she's been with her for a very long time! * Sheen - Aria's Sparkle Puppy, with one of the most voluminous coats of all buddies she's ever had to deal with. * Silverpelt - Aria's Sparkle Kitty she keeps tucked away in her home, in charge of all other buddies in the house. * Chinchilla-Chan - Aria's Sparkle Hamster who is often confused for a chinchilla because of the color of her fur. She's the queen of all hamsters and buddies that roam into the house. * Clifford - Aria's Puffin, notorious for ruling the birds in the house. He loves to chatter and tell stories to the wanderer birds that are invited into the nest. * Zip - Aria's Drone, which races all other buddies and is known for keeping up to even the fastest ones it faces. * Zap - Aria's Mini Spybot with a laser attached. It's eye is red instead of navy. * Jewel - Aria's Crystal Muncher, who enjoys spending her days improving her jumping skills so she can fit her mouth around any grand chandelier she finds, no matter how high or hard to get to. * Scuffle - Aria's Baby Triceratops, who enjoys helping out Jewel with her quests to find gems. All he likes to do himself is to help out others as best as he can. * She - Princess's Barn Owl. * Pony - Heather's Cloudstrider. * Nightlock - Carter's Horned Owl. * Baach - Ludwig, for some reason, found out a way to get buddies to follow him around himself. This is his Cloud Sheep, which loves to hang out around to tease him playfully and rain on others when they boo at his music (VERY UNLIKELY). Other Tamed Pets Aria's * Nike - a weather-wielding ally of Aria, one of the only few pets to be able to speak the language of wizards. She is a close yet elder confidant to her, as she is also experienced in leadership back in her old areas. * Seraphim - Aria's first pet, a fine female Solarasis that has been with her for forever. She often likes having her around as Seraphim no longer needs attention and enjoys helping out by sending messages by flight and talon. * Shrapnel - the only epic still in Aria's possession, this Big Hex is a master at refining normal magical items into stronger or more useful ones. A great inventor, Shrapnel is the Director of Monster Sciences in the Academy. * Meteorite - Aria's steed and only Embershed, the two have been through many harsh times together growing up. Meteorite has grown to become Aria's ride on various occasions. * Scrooge - Aria's sleuth, a private eye and investigator who has now become the Chief Justice in Prodigy Island's Supreme Court. * Ludwig - Aria's first true pet that can speak bilingually. He's a young Ivory TripTrop named after Beethoven, because he speaks both English and German but also is a skilled artist, composer, pianist, pan flutist, and child prodigy in terms of music (woah). Who knew such a rare monster could accomplish more than a human! Aria adores him like a son, yet the other pets on the team hate him for his stubborn, clumsy, and disagreeable personality. Ludwig is often caught drunk on mandrake juice. However, he's really bad at mathematics and would look weak in the world of a Browl. Rhett's * Gryphon - the faraway king of all Gloricious, Highfawn, and Snoots. He bans Highfawn once they evolve from Snoots in his family once they forget to use coasters, forcing them to live in forests instead of high peaks, like his mountain abode. He visits Rhett rarely nowadays because of his busy royal life. * Ri - Rhett's most loyal pet, a very spiky and edgy Sprike who acts like a dog. * Drake - Rhett's Tarragon starter fond of cleaning is scales and being one of the few dragons to rule the Lamplight Town Dragon Sanctuary, a park for dragons to go to if they want to hang out with others. Princess's * Chickadee - Princess's Solarasis, twin sister of Seraphim. She has more pastel colors and smoother, smaller features. Her call is different than most Solarasis, sounding like that of a chickadee with repeating one-syllable calls. This is vital in rescues and reconnaissance missions they commonly go on together. * Rocho - the most powerful of per pets is her Nebluff, trained in magic the most. The ability to wield static electricity into a variety of geometric shapes depending on the situation makes Rocho a very sly pet. * Veteran - a Flameger she was given to by Samantha before she perished. Veteran was her first pet, now very old and close to his time as well. Princess busily takes care of him often. * Solace - a Mystyyk she was given to by Samantha before she perished. A weakened old steed, her time is close to up. However, she enjoys taking days off to trot around the island and find final mates in Skywatch. Her nickname used to be "Knell" because the whinnying she made sounded like funeral bells, strangely. * Florafox - THE FLORAFOX that started it all! She entrusted Princess with her care and defends the grounds with ancient Earth spells. * Cobnut - a reformed bounty monster that had been raised by Nike from adoption. He now remains loyal to the law and wants to hunt down the others of his foursome to meet in reunion. Apprentice's * Ari-Chan - his original Aureate who renamed himself slightly differently. He helps to direct fire-element pets that want to attack Apprentice often, making him a self-proclaimed bodyguard. * Drakken - his Tarragon he still uses as a steed had been in use for years! He loves to travel and help out by carrying notes and cargo to every place he's needed. Other Wild Monsters * Avane of the Borderland - Nike's sworn enemy and now incarcerated for her crimes, she tried repeatedly to ruin the lives of Nike and her allies by sending her two minions to attack! * Evening of the Borderland - a castaway fusion of a Shade and Cloaker who follows Avane around to cause trouble. * Icetwig of the Borderland - a castaway fusion of a Squally and Saplette who follows Avane around to cause trouble. * Sierra - Draxis' deceased Prodraxis mother. Last seen in Firefly Forest stalking a ruler Gloricious. * Couatl - Draxis' deceased Prodraxis father. Last seen in Firefly Forest stalking a ruler Gloricious. * Dreamer - a fashionista male model for pets in both Firefly Forest and Shiverchill Mountains, this Dreamlet has big plans to make himself famous as well as find love in his big-shot world. * Draxis - a Prodraxis raised in the royal family of Gloricious, Highfawn, and Snoots. She has left the court because she wanted to, as well as doing so to find out the mystery of her country's past as well as find a love. * Unknown Serrazig - Dreamer's adoptive father. * Unknown Serrazag - Dreamer's adoptive mother. * Unknown Male Dreamlet - Dreamer's real father. * Unknown Female Dreamlet - Dreamer's real mother. * Quill - King Gryphon's elderly wife, another Gloricious. She is the primary queen of Skywatch's monsters. * Quincy - King Gryphon's son, a Highfawn prince of Skywatch monsters. He is Feather's mate. * Oak - King Oak is an elderly Gloricious, the secondary King of Skywatch monsters. * Dollie - King Oak's elderly wife, another Gloricious. She is the secondary queen of Skywatch's monsters. * Feather - Quincy's Highfawn mate, heir of the secondary throne. She is one of the few princesses to still live in the kingdom! * Ellie - a secretary and bodyguard of the Season Fae, who is an aspiring popstar herself. She is an Ivory Truckle is an exceptionally skilled aria soloist. * Johann - Ludwig's ClipClop father. Abuses alcohol. Rude and evades the authorities. Hates having to share custody of his "favorite" son with the authorities as well. * Maria - Ludwig's ClipClop mother. Frail, mother of like, too many children. She is welcoming, and grows close bonds with their children in, often, the few days they survive the abusive father. * Ludwig's siblings - too many to count, only a few survive the first few chapters. Yeesh, bad parenthood! Prologue Darkness once again shrouds the Academy, a few years after the conclusion to the war between the prodigies and the Order of Influence. Now that no remnant of the Puppet Master remains, only his minions do. Luckily, they work in prison now, Lamplight Town Prison. It recently had been resized to fit the entire amount of goons and Order workers inside. The Bounty Hunters are finishing up their day shifts, and returning home in the Southwestern part of the town. Academy students that had settled in on this September evening have just had their curfew, and now returned to their dormitories to fall into a slumber. However, there's no rest for half of the students, partying in Lamplight Town past the time. Bounty hunters are out to gently warn them to return, but throughout they night, they spend their time using up the remaining fireworks and shoplifting from the merchants. Festivities and battles on the east-side of the town go on, lights and squeals occur every few seconds. However, uneasy unrest comes to those still awake and working well into the night on Clockwork Avenue. President Stormchaser is hard at work cleaning up the still messy nation with her secretaries and allies also in the government. Right now it's nine at night, and Aria's in the Opal Office, scribbling furiously on parchment with her Gloricious-feather quill. She doesn't even take it off the paper for minutes at a time because she cast a spell on it so it'll never run out of Squarrel ink. She murmurs the words she inscribes as she writes, "Formal Letter To VP...signed and dated tonight, right now...get the knell out of here...this is not your soil...we don't want to take your bribe...get your own trading partner..." She was writing a letter of what the Vice President, Apprentice, was supposed to yell at a few foreign nations about. They were trying to buy the nation from them or at least declare war on the weakened country, and Aria was outraged about it. If she wasn't able to defend her country by the use of the magic she placed all over it, she would have to suffer the nation being bombed and barricaded by countries ruled by corrupt leaders and terrorists. She at the time also didn't like to speak publicly all that much, so she had to get Apprentice to do the job for her. After she finished, she quickly proofread her writing. No errors. She brandished her pawprint wand, aka The Master of Trials, and made an angered swiping motion at the letter to seal it with the Official President-of-the-Prodigy-Island Stamp, waxed and branded onto the indigo ribbon tied tautly to the paper with a simple spell. She then cursed at it with a circular hand motion to accompany, and the parchment materialized away out of mid air. She grunted a sigh and scrolled out of the desk on her swivel armchair, looking out along the President's Mansion grounds, only lit by lamplight and fireflies...with one more thing peculiar. Rapidly traveling lights, made from flashlights, made a beeline towards the edge of the property line where a figure was standing. She couldn't make anything out because of the blinding light from inside her own room. Crashing and crackling thunder from outside was followed by silence, signaling that storm spells were just used outside. She turned back to the other end of the Opal Office and complained quietly in her head. Just then, a door burst open with two secret service guards barking at her simultaneously, "A security breach was found outside. You need to bolt your windows." Aria stood back up because she had already slumped down in the swivel armchair, abruptly pulling down the hems to her crimson draconyx suit. "Sure, men. Make sure that you stay in contact with all other servicemen to keep the grounds safe from the aberration." She locked the windows in the Office shut right after she had slid the bottom panel down. The room needed fresh air, but she guessed it was no longer a necessity because it had been open for hours. When she looked back, the men were gone. Once again, she was alone in the Opal Office with nothing but rainbow-colored gemstones encrusting the furniture and portraits of long-dead world leaders from other nations that have been made real longer before hers. She quietly walked away from her desk despite the hours of more work she would have to perform, somehow tempting her to stay seated. However, that work would always be with her, no matter how hard she worked and no matter how much she accomplished. She seen each one, each a figure she had held great honor in. They were her motivation to keep on working, just like her close friends to lead a powerful business. She was honored of taking on such a stressful role in her homeland, the Second President of the island. Although there was much backlash and death threats hse had received, she wanted to keep up her work. A founding mother of the nation, that was what mattered. She was safe in her office. She was betrothed to Rhett Stormchaser. She had pets and buddies, a sister and friends she couldn't disappoint. However, she couldn't disappoint the most influential people on her wall, nor could she disappoint Samantha, let her soul rest in peace. Aria returned to her desk and began to organize her inbox on her desk to papers that were attached to each other and those in top priority to least priority. When she was finished, she glanced at her watch again. "Nine-thirty PM, eastern time. Oh Snoots, I should be getting to my bed!" She dashed out of the room, making sure everything was in place first. As custom, she gave a thumbs-up to the two guards waiting outside to close and lock the doors before her, guarding it until their shifts were to be finished. She then took out her wand again and teleported back to her bedroom on the third floor, so she wouldn't catch attention of any butlers, maids, or security breachers outside. Inside of the room was a single moonlit window looking outside towards the East, turned away from her old home, turned towards Lamplight Town. Fireworks and confetti boomed in the air, irritating er to the core. She'd seen this every night for the past three nights, as soon as teenage wizards were back on the island to continue high-school tutoring in their magic skills abroad. However, they were mostly here for the top-notch algebra taught at the Academy. "Aria, you've been irritated like this for weeks now. Still regretting vetoing that law on battles past 7:30?" a voice speaks from behind Aria, the man tucked into bed with only a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and a nightcap on. Aria turns to him, eyes locked. It was Rhett, tired yet concerned for his wife-to-be. "Rhett, it's different now. The teen wizards have returned. I believe that not following curfew should mean arrest for them. This way, fireworks won't keep the sleeping people up all the time. Have you seen the maids and butlers out there? They need to be well-rested to be happy employees." "More like you need sleep. You've been locked up in the Opal Office for the past few weeks trying to get this stuff in order. Luckily for tomorrow, your schedule will be different." "Why? You're going to take me away for 'foreign affairs' again? That's vacation time I'm not supposed to have and it's not even!" "No, it's Annual Hatchling Day. You're supposed to be present at the Town Square to watch the event." Aria hesitated, remembering the past many years of Hatchling Day. The first Friday of September is always that day. Aria corrects, "Rhett, it's Wednesday Evening. It's in two days." "No, it's Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday. Have you gone insane?" "Well, I guess I have. I can trust you, Rhett. I'll go wash up and get in bed. Make sure you're still awake, because I have some papers I want you to look at before you go to the Academy tomorrow for teaching." "I got a substitute to fill in for me tomorrow. I've prepared them with papers so the students follow them on the field trip they're supposed to have." "Don't do it again. You're supposed to be able to manage it on your own." "But I want to spend time with you. I have a personal life besides just being a professor." "Don't you understand what being a president is? I don't even have to attend it tomorrow, because I have no care for it. Congress planned on giving me a bill to consider signing tomorrow, it's about our national security which holds high importance with them." "I thought that each year, a president welcomes a new pet into their sanctuary by picking the egg of the hatchling of their choice." "I'll have the egg sent to the family of your Gryphon kingdom. I'll try to choose one that looks like a Snoots egg, or at least any storm-element egg." "You can't do that. Gryphon only wants biological heirs." "He'll kick the child out of the nest once they evolve or get too old. I don't need another pet companion, I have enough friends." "Nike will be sad. She can take care of the new pet." "''Nike is retired from most of her duties because she's getting to that time. She's busy and needs rest. She's trying to lead the Lost Island Bush Monsters, but is also busy governing the Treacherous Taiga which is literally on the OTHER SIDE of the island chain." "I can't argue with you anymore, cutie. We'll work it out in the morning." Aria sighs and washes up, changing out of her suit and keeping on her stockings she wears underneath that extend as full-body clothes. She flops onto the top of the bed and quickly fall out of consciousness, not even bothering to close the blinds to the window or even bolting them shut. Chapter 1 - Annual Hatching Day (Aria) I awaken to the sound of scratching on glass with metal, distinctly coming from my right. There was something at the window, trying to enter. As my eyes adjust and I regain my vision, I see the familiar vulpine face I have seen every year, about this time. Don Zorro was scratching at the window with a sharpened dagger glinting in the falling moon's reflected light. He then saw me looking back and waved, pointing towards the door to open it. It was Don Zorro, and he had a title of honor. I knew Springfest would start soon, so I just thought of how good it would be to stop by without hundreds of children giving him much more than a handful of work to do for the next three months at the Fox Fort. I quietly and sheepishly slide off of the bed in the underclothing, even though neither form-fitting on me or revealing in any way. I swiftly dodge the papers scattered around the foot of the bed, important documents I spread sparsely and clumsily about the entire mansion. Without a sound, I look to the lock at the door. Opened already, I just had to shove up the window to let in the honorable Mr. Fox in. With no sound, he acrobatically somersaulted into the room and landed on his paws. He mouthed, "Thank you, Presidente." "You're welcome. Why are you here? How are you here?" I questioned in a whisper, just hoping Rhett doesn't awaken hearing it. "A fox knight never shares secrets with wizards, señora. Well, I know that today will be the start of Springfest, and there are two queries I have for you as reason for why I came. And no, I wasn't that breach from last evening. The conejitos were trying to scope out a place to hide their eggs, this year they will be overstocked," Zorro whines while he thinks of the misfortune he may have this year, "so yes, that's that. But one, today's Annual Hatchling day. If by any chance any Emburn eggs hatch and they aren't wanted, we can adopt them. Could you find an Emburn egg for us to hatch yourself, and if you can't, could you sponsor our faction this year?" "Get out, creature. I woke up at five in the morning to hear you!" I struggle to keep a whisper, shooing him out and locking the window behind him as I see a flame-orange thing in a suit of clunking armor trail off into the dimly lit grounds and gardens of the Mansion. I decided today that the bunnies are at least more quiet about everything, so I'd sponsor them instead. In the world of a rich wizard, others from all over the island rush in from left and right to ask us to sponsor or help them out. It's dialed down ever since the fall of the Order, but funding and national spending is out-of-control and I no longer even wish to spend anything for the school lunches of the wizards, they'd have to farm Bonfire Turnips and apples themselves. Today would be a day of a public appearance, even though I highly hated it, smiling and waving. I'd rather work and sign bills into laws. In the life of an island far off the east coast of North America, it's difficult to pay off every little tariff and tax out there. We barely have anymore trade, and now my vice is giving me the cold shoulder about serious planning. What has the world come to, I have to do work and do it alone! I pondered angily, still staring out the window into the grounds now being pulled into the early morning light. Instead of wasting precious time, I slipped out of the bedroom and made my usual route down the hall of guards and secret service members to the bathroom. I embarrassingly was still in my sleeping clothes, yet I tried to make the best of it. I quickly got to the bathrooms and found my wand, in which I used to magically clean everything and teleport appropriate clothing onto me. I looked back at myself after the blinding light from the spell dissipated, me now wearing a loose black women's-cut tuxedo. Get it right, careless wand. Spring is not the time for a gala or funeral, I don't even wear this. Not at my inauguration, not at my future wedding. Never. I decided to just deal with wearing a maroon flannel shirt, khakis, flat slip-ons, and a carnelian orange scarf - after all, the Mansion always gets cold now. I stopped expending government money on heating or cooling. I took one last look at myself in the restroom-area mirror, seeing my still oily and untame gray hair. I poked it, feeling it wiry. YOU TOOK OUT MY DYE? I immediately changed it back to an appropriate chinchilla color, casting a spell to clean it, tame it, and keep every gacha-styled spike in my hair in place. I looked at the clock I was still wearing on my left wrist, 5:05 AM. I quickly used my wand to summon the schedule I would have today, and peered down at the list that had kept my hair gray and would turn pure white in the next month: Ches the Fifteenth, 9019 - President's Timeboard 9:00 - guards to awaken her if slept this long (highly improbable), breakfast, Opal Office meeting with VP and Cabinet over Recreational Activity In Island 10:00 - teleport to Town Square, Lamplight Town, interview with Lamplight Press Correspondent 11:00 - watch event in Town Square 12:00 - return to President's Mansion, allow her to do what she needs to do I sighed miserably, knowing I had about four hours left to sleep. I decided to be productive and get to the office again, papers and staff probably already at the door trying to protest my lack of heat spending. I left the restrooms and marched my way down to the dining hall, where I'd go spend some time talking with any of my visitors or office employees that happened to be tired of nightly shifts there. Chapter One Intermission MORE OF CH1 COMING SOON! Will Aria find any old characters at the hall? Will she meet any of her old adversaries there? Will her flustered vice ever attack her again today? Wait until the rest of chapter one comes! Let's Keep Going Finally making it to the dining hall, it was still barely-lit with now blinding sunlight despite being originally modeled by Samantha's architectural committee to be a sunroom. Similar to the Great Hall of Hogwarts, four long sequoia tables sat laterally from my view of the door opposing the far podium. I was able to smell again the freshness of the dust that accumulated here, rather enjoying the scent because of its robust flavor, a stark contrast to the nearly lethal mold fumes circulating in the Opal Office. I got used to both atmospheres, however. The hall was surprisingly quiet. Maintenance officials and some of Aria's inner-circle visitors were munching on candied turnips and taking fresh sips of the alcoholic beverage called mandrake juice. It was common in parties, but I objected to any of it for a few reasons. One - it tastes horrible, only people who were accustomed to it or weren't wizards would like it. Two - I never want to end up like Ludwig, my Ivory TripTrop, known for heavily drinking it when he was too bored to compose. Three - it's alcohol, it's weird. I'm twenty-one, the legal youngest year to be voted into office. The maintenance workers paid me no heed once I entered. They were pretty used to me storming in on horrible days, bursting the doors open, evening kicking them, because I was in no mood for nonsense. That's me, the professional, no-nonsense president. Just how I want to be framed and pictured for the rest of Prodigy Island's history. I liked not being noticed, though - it gives me an air of familiarity. And luckily - there was only one secret service guard in the entire hall. He never came over, mainly because I think he's either doing his job right or just wants me impeached. I quickly strode to the far end where there was still an early-morning shadow, facing away from the blazing yet faraway sun. Casting a simply spell with my bare hands, I summoned a plate of seaweed and kale chips, as well as a small glass of water in which I barely touched for the entire meal. People used to call me Camel Crimson when I was running for the next in office, and this was because I wasn't like the other competitors, I never reached for my water bottle no matter how coarse, tired, and dried-out I was. Luckily, I never passed out! I had one small green crispy thing left to shove into my no longer panging digestive system when I heard someone following in my footsteps. My face was already turned to the door, so I witnessed the entire instance without having to turn around awkwardly. There was the furious Apprentice, dolled up in such a dainty black tuxedo, white gloves, everything starched and stiff that it was so surprising how nimbly and mobile he was in the outfit. His irises blazed with bitter blue flame and his heavily-gelled slicked-back redwood-bark-colored hair grew to spikes before my very eyes. The kid was minorly agitated. "PRESSSSSS-IDENTTTTTT!" he roared louder than a Liosen, making the maids jump from their seats and stare at the vice, shocked. I got indigestion just trying to preen myself in the informal wear in front of the "gentleman." I then calmly wiped my mouth with a napkin, rose to my two feet, and braced myself as I watched the creature of a wizard rip through the room to get to me. I cooly stated, "Vice, what do you want?" A superior acting calmly in front of an angered man usually makes them pause, but this time, I was wrong. "YOU NASTY DICTATOR BETTER TELL ME WHAT YOU SIGNED INTO LAW. I HAD NO CONSENT!" he screeched, reaching for his tailcoat pocket and pulling out a signed, dated, and stamped document that I had approved from Congress. I signed it two days ago, and it stated that all students attending school yet traveling outside of the Academy grounds during school hours needed to have a chaperone. "It's constitutional. Don't you suppose?" I asked again. Drakken, the Tarragon towering above and behind him, already had his spines raised at hearing his master audibly abuse me. His beady tree-sap-colored eyes peered down at the fuming Vice. "I THINK THEY SHOULD BE FREE TO DO WHAT THEY WANT JUST AS I WAS FREE!" Again, I could see the small arms on the tarragon cover its own scaly ear holes. "Dude, Drakken is hurting. Could you please calm down before I suggest Congress makes a law to ban you from screaming in front of monsters?" "BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT, YOU DUNCE! I WILL LITERALLY THROW YOU OUT OF POWER WHEN I MAKE A SPEECH ABOUT HOW STRICT YOU ARE!" "Sir," I asked calmly still, "I didn't mean it that way. How about we talk over this with some herbal tea on ice?" I emphasized the last word to suggest him to shut up. "FINE. YOU WANT TO LIVE A LIFE WHERE YOU BECOME THE DICTATORESS OF YOUR NATION, GO HAVE SOME ICED HERBAL TEA BY YOURSELF!" I wasn't fazed by it. He's never been so furious before, though. Drake begged to differ, he was still inching away from his abusive master gradually back toward the door. Suddenly, Drakken full-on made a one-monster stampede through the double-doors and stomped through the catherdralline hallway to escape. Apprentice looked back right before dashing off to catch his dragon, "I'LL BE BACK, LADY. I WILL HAVE YOUR LITTLE SATYR, TOO." I knew it. Ludwig just had to be a part of everything. My new mission was then to get the pet gang back and defend my precious ice-element child from any harm. I know it sounds weird, but I don't want biological children. I just want to have prestigious pets and my own instead. Though I was barely an adult, I made my way to the sleeping quarters of my pets, who resided in different places. Nike had always been motherly as well, as she was known to have adopted and raised four gargoyle children who are now, sadly, separated. She would be willing to have little luminites of her own, but she's too old to rear luminite young. Ludwig worked just fine. They would be together, somewhere, either training or Nike supervising a concert. And I was too late to get him! Chapter 2 - Hit the Right Notes (Ludwig) Dusk fell, just like my hopes. As every night happens. Other things that fall - rain, night, hopes, dreams, and myself - into a deep hole of trouble. Who knew I could've been ruined like this! As always, President Aria (co-step-mother) always treats me well. My real one - she's tied up with five other children and a drunkard ClipClop I hate to call my father. She's a ClipClop herself, though - but much better-looking than the others. Unfortunately, it's my duty to live with a new family to earn money through the President's income and support the busy life of my two parents. I live with Aria, of course, and Nike, a really loving mother figure who is there when I need her. She is protective, wise, and powerful. I've never seen an ordinary monster as strong as her ever before. However, she isn't ordinary. She's extraordinary! Far better than Aria, who has a strikingly similar personality to me besides her humbleness and wisdom. I'm just a worthless satyr with a music life and shame to my household. I could never match Miss Stormchaser's nee Strongrunner's collectedness and experience no matter how many decades I outlive her. Okay, I guess you may believe I'm some tragic little creature, a gary-stu you've seen so many times. No, I'm destined to live the fate of the really old man I was raised like, named after, and based on altogether. Shameful! However, let's not dwell on that. Nike never says to keep myself on such thoughts. I was made to perform, create, and learn. It takes a long time, but I'm able to do many things, yet most improperly. At least that's what my father said every time I played the pianoy for him, slamming his paws into mine every time I had an imperfection in my performance on any piece. He'd expect far too much of me when I was just a kid. Luckily, the abuse motivated this aspect of me. I DID IT AGAIN, THINKING NEGATIVELY! WHAT A STUPID MONSTER I AM! Why don't we just get to what happened. It's evening now, of course. The sun sets upon Prodigy Island, and I'm now in Firefly Forest with Nike, taking a daily visit to my family before I go off to a concert with other TripTrops and monsters as such. I can pay whatever gold and currencies I get for playing. This way, I am able to spend what I need before I have to give it all away to my family that just uses it to fuel the alcoholic energy within my unhealthy father. I deal with him daily and nightly, only returning to the President's Mansion when I get so sick and tired from wasting nearly half of my earnings on the alcohol that I purchase for myself while Nike stares at me, confused, why I would ruin my liver from such a young age. She's a health addict, and I'm a mandrake addict. Nike and I are already at The Big Tree, where Flora always greets us warmly each night we return. "Hello, mutant creeps. Ready for your punk gig?" Nike always bares her teeth at the forest fairy and makes a low growling noise. I could tell that she did not like this one bit, so I joined in and tried baring my own despite being an herbivore. Not so intimidating, especially after I've been an abuse victim. Calling us mutants is common. I've been called worse. I've been maimed by my father, neglected by my biological mother (who I still love, because I respect that hard works she's doing to help the other TripTrop sisters and brothers I have), and have been given hard tasks by many erratic instructors in the past. Once, I had this teacher who was a Squawks, and would keep me up late at night just to play him what he taught me an hour before, when I was trying to sleep as well. Odd times, odd hours. Let's get back to the mutants part. It really angers me, though, how Nike and I are set apart from our natural species. I've never seen a Luminex that looks even closely similar in size and frame to Nike. She's just as crouched as the typical ones, but eight feet tall at full height and has spikier fur. She's thinner, slimmer, yet she is ropier. She always wears a strange red scarf around her neck I really, really want to try on myself to see how warm it is or how attractive I could look to other TripTrops. Nike has extra yellow markings on her fur, and the crescent moon on her forehead is replaced with a star. It glows in the dark, too. Just like the other yellow patterns on her thighs and shoulders. I'm different as well. I'm an ivory, unlike the other TripTrops. My late older sibling was a regular plant-element one. So are my younger five siblings. I'm the only ivory I've ever seen. However, not the only one I've heard about. I was born in a forest of the plant element as the dominant element, yet I'm an ice-element monster. It's weird as mathematics itself! So yes, many people to discriminate. Nike and I just stride past, while I think of how Flora could have rephrased that to be nice. More like hello, ready for your performance? I wish people were just, nice. Yet sometimes others think in reverse. They wish that I was "nice." I don't understand what they mean - I see no virtual flaws in myself other than my occasional slow learning patterns and clumsiness. They believe me malevolent, deserving of punishment, and lowly. They can't believe how far I've gotten and how much I have achieved, as well as how I am the "adopted" son of the President of the island! Crazy stuff right there, thinking and pondering messes with my head. Instead, I drink to drown away these thoughts. These ideas are wiped whenever I can just take a break to either sleep or drink, or even play one of my own tunes when nobody but either my real mother, Nike, or Aria is around (well, exclude Aria, she has no time for such business with me). So yeah, currently Nike and I are walking past The Big Tree. It takes roughly five miles to get to the lively part of the forest where only monsters dare to enter. Here is the bar and the village shacks for every monster that resides here peacefully. It takes us practically all the way to the place wizards call the "Mountain Gate" to get to! And the gibbous moon is already rising, waxing, and enlarging. I had to get to my parents' house fast. At midnight is the time I play, and at nine I'm expected to be at my parents'. Nike, naturally concerned, looks at me while I ponder, gripping my freshly-composed sheet music, bag of merely 5,000 gold, and flute tightly. These were my vital and currently my only possessions, and I usually keep things closer when I count on them to live through the night. She asks, "So, are you prepared for your first battle?" I froze. Battle? I had to run! A/N: THE REST IS COMING SOON, SORRY FOR LEAVING YOU AT A BORING SPOT! Chapter 2 Intermission Wow, we’re partway through the second chapter :D Let’s see what is going to happen in whatever random encounter we see. I hope it surprises you… Continue! Nike points over to a flower bed while she speaks, “Yes, child. There’s someone itching for a fight. Look over there, in the tiger lily bed.” Immediately I see something sticking out of it, two golden irises in the darkest corner, gleaming in the sunset. I could then see two taloned, gnarled hands firmly gripping the soil beneath, the black nails on the hands glittering like its eyes. A matte raspberry-colored scaled devil’s tail is curled on one of the tallest tiger lily stems, the spadelike tip tapping the bloom above just so it sways differently than its kin. The creature was none like I’ve ever seen, and for all I know it could be an Order of Influence creature wanting revenge on the wrong pet. I leapt back behind Nike while I witnessed the creature stir the entire flowerbed just to stand to full height. It was roughly six feet high, and I was only 5’4”! Surely Nike could handle the beast on its own, but she froze as well. She never did that whenever she had to defend herself. Something was horribly wrong. The creature could now be seen to be some twisted Flaria, wearing a black leather jacket without markings or studs. Just some strange mutant Flaria. He had small wings sprouted on his back, that were folded as not to tear the expensive piece. The ends were as glimmering black as his talons. No ordinary Flaria. “Ludwig, get back. Son?” Nike asked. I was immediately confused. Who was she talking to? “Mother…” the equally-confused Flaria muttered. I could see mixed emotions in Nike’s face. I knew that Nike had four adopted sons before, and this creature seems to be one of them. It’s said that she found four abandoned eggs in a back alley of Lamplight Town, which were abandoned by their own mother. She took them in and after the war, she despised them for turning on her and leaving her behind. It’s said that she is also arch nemeses with their biological mother. The situation got more tense with more I knew. “YOU LEFT ME, PAUL!” Nike howled. “IT HAS BEEN A DECADE SINCE I LAST SAW YOU. WHERE ARE YOUR BROTHERS?” Paul the Flaria dismisses, “I have no idea, just let me get to do my business. I have to go do errands for my master.” “YOU WILL NOT LEAVE ME UNTIL YOU TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER.” “I’ll do that if I’m introduced to your new kid. Who’s this?” Paul points a gnarled claw at me with a sense of jealousy. Trying to act social unlike my real self, I take a few steps forward and shake Paul’s hand saying, “Hello, I’m Ludwig. So you’re Paul?” “You know the name,” Paul smirks, “so, Mom, is this...Ludwig...what you call your second attempt at success?” Nike nabs, “He’s not mine, and he can freely visit his real parents as he wishes. I’m just his escort. Take me to your leader, Paul.” “Fine...MOOOOM! I’ll go try to get my pal. He should be at the Mountain Gate right now, partying with the forest monsters. Follow me.” We all take the five-mile long stroll in silence. I shuffle awkwardly with the taller two, while Nike attempts to intimidate her adult fostered child. He barely looks back. Finally we arrive there, and the concert hall open to the forest is full of plant-element monsters. They were attempting the conga line despite some being quadrupeds, which was awkward for a few sprikes trying to dance. I can’t even dance no matter what, so I understood their pain. Paul called out to the crowd in monster speech, “Can you find Carter?” One person ran out, a nineteen-year-old-like wizard in a tartan shirt and cargo shorts with matching colored sandals. Clearly he’d been partying, the shirt stained and sweaty. His tangerine hair was wildly cut, and he already had some sides to his head shaved. It was our Cabinet’s Secretary of Commerce, Carter Stormchaser. President Aria’s boyfriend’s younger brother. In a speech Paul didn’t understand, Carter spoke to us in English, “Paul yelled. What’s happening?” I said to both Paul and Carter, “So you’re his master? Wow, it’s so nice to meet a Cabinet member.” “Yes. And oh, you’re the new escortee for my brother’s girlfriend’s pet friend. How do you speak a human language?” “Real Mother taught me. She deals with wizards all the time.” “That’s nice. Is she a ClipClop?” “Yep.” Carter seemed to regurgitate in his mouth. Most people hated ClipClops and I had no idea why. Well, apart from my father. It’s outrageous how his own father was one of the Warden’s musicians. Crazy how he was a ClipClop as well. “Well, nice meeting you guys. Wait, so you are performing tonight?” “At midnight.” “What do you play? What genre?” “Piano, classical.” Again Carter seemed unamused. In a world of techno, there’s no room for my music. He just replied, “Nice to meet you guys. I could be there, little TripTrop. See ya!” Paul inches away and it’s just Nike and I to walk over to my house. It was just around a corner, so we had to sneak away quietly without being shoved into the conga line like most people surrounding it. Right when we walked up to the door, it flung open for us. A crazed ClipClop I hate to call my own father was in the way. “Reject, where’s your money? I need all of it, now.” I was furious. He never acted this demanding - well, he always had. I’d just got a run-in with a fire-element. A FIRE ELEMENT! “What are you going to use it for, Johann?” requested the snarling Nike behind me. “You’re not Ludwig’s mother. My wife is. You don’t have any control over my child.” A lighter brown paw pokes one of the my father’s shoulders, casing the vile wretch to turn around and put his hand not holding a firefly whiskey bottle on the neck of my mother. “What do you want, Maria?” the ClipClop strangled my mother, who had one of my infant siblings tucked in the arm not still holding onto my fathers’. Nike quickly intervened and grasped both firmly, taking them outside on the dimly lit lawn shared by all the other makeshift shacks. I was again surprised by her action, but not how she had done so. “You two need a break. Well, let’s just get this over, shall we?” Nike nudges me. I take what gold and currency I got last time and placed it in the greedy hands of my father, and then backed away into the comfort of Nike. I wanted to say something to my mother, but I guess it was too stressful to do anything or interact with anyone. Nike urged me over to the party hall again, and we sat on the rotting tree stumps to the side. “The worst yet, child?” Nike queries in English, as she’s only been my escort for the last month I’ve been on Aria’s side. She’s seen many things like this, but none with too much violence of demandingness from my father. I reply in English back to her, nearly tearing, “Actually, yes.” “Well, have you ever had a good memory with your family?” Nike pushes, knowing the answer while I sigh afterwards. “I never had anything good, either.” “What do you mean by that?” I question her doubtfully. “When I was just a cub,” she explains, “I was shunned. I had one sister and no others in the litter of hatchlings, and only the dead would know where any of my parents or my sister were. They all left me, alone. I was different than them, after all. Lankier, different markings than the other luminites. I was then an orphan, shunned from all of the other Skywatch monsters. No luminites would speak to me, and I had to survive on my own. That made me tough and I grew quick, became a Luminex immediately from a Luminite. Crazy, all you have to do is mess your fur up, practically. I couldn’t groom myself, I wasn’t welcome on any of the normal paths in Skywatch. I was cast away to survive at the bottom level of the bean-o-vator there.” “That’s tough,” I remark, concerned. “Talk about it. There were no other storm-elements where I stayed. I had mates, too. None of them wanted me, they wanted other Luminex. I moved to all the possible places on the main island, then even went to the Forbidden Place to stay permanently and raise your older adopted brothers.” I was shocked. She brought up the Forbidden Place (The Lost Island). It seceded after the war and is now property of the Order, even if they no longer exist. I can’t believe that’s where she lived, raised the gargoyle quartet. They’d make a good string string quartet - if they knew how to play any instruments with a wooden bow without snapping one in two. Nevermind that - Nike was also tearing up. She sobbed, “Then they all left. I was determined to find them, but the war raged on too fierce to find them without others. I gave up and swam my way to the West Island, as you may know the Treacherous Taiga.” I put a paw to her glowing golden shoulder. Also crying, my voice cracked like I was a few years younger, “You really had to give up looking for them just to survive on your own? I’m so sorry.” We sit in silence, apart from our synchronized crying. Our tears are gone by a few passing minutes. We hear a stampede and rustling of leaves coming from an unlit corner of our vision, near a dark and dense area. Four glamorous fairies float by, and I instantly recognized them. They were the four Season Fae, the aristocrats of the seasons! Vernal and Hibernal, Autumnal and Estival - the respective embodiments of Spring, Winter, Fall, and Summer. They were famous, and wore lavish clothing to prove it. They were followed by an Ivory Truckle who was adorned by an equally-lavish magenta lace choker, studded with pyrite-rimmed bismuth squares. She looked like she was following the crowd, but also like their bodyguard. It was strange - she was whistling in an enchanting way, unlike any other forest animal I’ve ever seen sing. She was probably a secretary, though - I had no clue. I immediately preened myself, I wanted to look better and more formal for the performance. “See anyone you like, kid?” Nike turns to me. I immediately feel conscious of my behavior and mess up my fur before she could ruffle it. “No, just the Season Fae. They’re here.” “I don’t know these people. I’m fresh out of army training, no time for popstars.” “I see. But look, there’s people that night need help!” I point to a group of roughly a dozen monsters behind them. They weren’t paparazzis I would expect, but they were holding bundles of eggs and some even wearing more formal clothing than the Seasonal Fae. Four were really aged and battered sovereign Gloricious, wearing classic king and queen crowns and diadems. I recognized them - I played for them before in their court in Skywatch once, a day after the war ended to celebrate their victory. They were the monster rulers of Skywatch, as they were higher in rank above all else. Nike seemed to know, she was standing up and bowing, so did I as they walked past. They were accompanied by two younger-looking Highfawn, one a princess and another her husband, a prince, who were harnessed to a golden carriage behind them, filled high with Tribeak down pillows and a clutch of eggs. The princess’s father was strikingly familiar to me - I knew it. King Gryphon, whose master was Aria’s engaged boyfriend, Rhett. More importantly, they had eggs! I could see that there were six. Two were heavily cracked and very large, one was almost just as cracked, another a little less, another completely shiny and flawless (must be newy laid), and one far larger green one that looked nothing like the others. I could tell it wasn’t theirs, they may have just found it and probably to grow as a servant. That group passed, and a duo of two other egg layers and their families were present, walking past to get to the hall. It was obvious, the two were parents that used surrogates to get an egg. It was also green, but not identical or even close in appearance to other one. It was deeper in color, scalier, and had a magenta feathery feature on its top. The creature would be hatching soon, in about a day. Speaking of which, tomorrow is Annual Hatchling Day, and they all would be forced to hatch. See, there’s a population control law where all eggs laid will be forced to hatch tomorrow in the morning festivities using egg development and rare spellcasting only certain wizards are able to accomplish. They would all hatch fine, unlike me, and Nike… The parents that would raise the egg they had in an average plastic and metal stroller were a Serrazig and Serrazag, with their angry surrogate parents, both younger Dreamlets, floating near them, yelling at them with their little pixie voices. I almost laughed because of their weak little souls, despite knowing they are very durable in battles and make good human shields, said Nike once at battle practice a few days ago. The other two missing were a mating pair of Prodraxis, stalking the Gloricious group. It appeared like they were wronged by them and that green egg was theirs, stolen. I paid no part in it, even a storm-element could wipe me out with one spell. “So, what’s all of this? I’ve never seen anything like it.” I answer, “Me neither. I guess it’s the eve of Annual Hatchling Day, so they’re all partying beforehand. Tomorrow’s going to be really big, I guess.” “Shouldn’t we be planning for the future, though? Do you want your own children?” “I’m old enough myself to have kids, but I’m out of luck. I can’t even support my father and his family, let alone one with a wife and children.” “You have Aria’s money to depend on now. We can extend the Stormchaser family line!” “No, not now. I don’t even feel like playing tonight,” I say, after I feel a strange pang in my stomach, but not from hunger. I collapse and feel nothing afterwards. I’m unconscious. ---- “Wake up, wake up, my son.” I can’t move. I’m paralyzed. “Please, don’t die.” I feel a head thump onto my furry chest. I wasn’t wearing my coat, all I had was fur. Someone was feeling my heartbeat. “He’s slow. 30 per minutes. It should be 35 at rest for a TripTrop.” “WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO HIM?” I finally feel them take themselves off of me. I can identify who’s talking - Nike, Aria, a Floatling, and a bustling background noise of many moving fabrics, feet, and creaking noises. I was in a hospital. “I’m afraid he went unconscious when we were having a conversation together in Firefly Forest. It was spontaneous.” “His liver is out of whack. All I can say is that he needs to stop abusing alcohol and he’ll be normal.” “He was kidnapped then! I had to chase that Tarragon that took him.” “Drakken was out to get him. I had to chase him and his master with Meteorite just to catch him in the act. It was Apprentice’s fault, he was out to harm my little kid here to have revenge on me.” The floatling nurse states in a monotone voice, “You do realize, President, that he’s not yours, he’s only a pet? He has rights to be free.” “I’ll consider that, ma’am. Thank you, I know you’re busy.” “Yes’m. I have other patients to attend to. And don’t come back until we’re ready to discharge him!” I could hear Aria’s grumbling with Nike, and both left. I could see that it was still barely morning, Annual Hatchling Day’s nearly 7 AM wake-up call. I could feel myself already able to move now, yet nearly blinded by the half-light. My eyes watery, I realized that yes, I should stop drinking. A lesson to all should be moderation, I abuse it, though. I got kidnapped on the way, I should have been more careful! I guess I hit the wrong notes on life. All you can do is practice to improve it. Chapter 3 - Hatchling Day Events (Aria) COMING SOON!